RFID devices are used in a variety of different applications, including, for example, monitoring, cataloging, and tracking items. An RFID system typically includes a transponder, or “tag”, for storing and transmitting data, an interrogator, or “reader”, for receiving the data from the tag, and a data communications network for conveying the data received by the interrogator to an information system.
RFID tags generally have a tag antenna and an integrated circuit (IC). Tag antennas can be constructed from a variety of materials, including silver, copper, and aluminum, and can be printed (e.g., silkscreen, gravure, flexography), etched, stamped, or grown. Tags are “active” if they contain an internal power source, and “passive” if they receive power from an external source such as the interrogator. Battery assisted tags (BATs) are a type of passive tag that uses an internal source to power the IC and an external source to power RF transmission.
Typically, in a two-terminal IC, one terminal is connected to a first pole of a dipole antenna, and the other terminal is connected to a second pole of the dipole antenna. In a four-terminal IC, one pair of terminals may be connected to a first dipole antenna, and the other pair of terminals may be connected to a second dipole antenna. Typically, the two dipole antennas are planar and orthogonal in space, which provides polarization and directional diversity.
RFID interrogators have an interrogator antenna and use radio frequency signals to acquire data remotely from tags that are within range. More specifically, the tag communicates with the interrogator by modulating the scattering parameters of the tag antenna. For example, the IC presents an impedance that is the complex conjugate of the antenna impedance; as a result, half of the RF energy will be delivered to the IC, and half scattered or re-radiated into space. However, a dipole antenna in which the two feed points are shorted is effectively a metal wire of resonant length. RF energy of the resonant frequency induces currents in the resonant wire. Since a wire is an excellent conductor, little energy is turned into heat and nearly all of the RF energy is scattered. By modulating its impedance, the IC of the passive tag is able to change the amount of energy scattered by the tag. The interrogator detects this change in the magnitude or phase of the backscattered energy and thereby detects signals from the tag.
RFID systems operate over a range of different frequencies, including low frequency (LF), typically around 125-135 KHz, high-frequency (HF), typically around 13.56 MHz, ultra-high-frequency (UHF), typically around 315 MHz, 433 MHz, or 900 MHz, and microwave radio bands, typically around 2.4 to 5.8 GHz. At LF and HF frequencies, the tag antenna is typically coupled to the interrogator antenna by a magnetic component of the reactive near-field, in which both antennas are typically configured as coils in a resonant circuit. However, typical antennas used in near-field systems are typically only a small fraction of a wavelength in their linear dimensions and, therefore, are inefficient electromagnetic radiators and receptors. As a result, the useful range of operation may be limited to as little as a few inches from the interrogator antenna. Such a short read distance is a significant disadvantage in many applications.
At UHF and microwave frequencies, the tag antenna is typically coupled to the interrogator antenna by a radiating far-field, which uses electromagnetic (EM) waves that propagates over distances typically of more than a few wavelengths. As a result, the useful range of operation can be up to twenty feet or more. However, compared to the HF band, the radiation and reception of EM waves at these higher frequency bands are affected much more strongly by obstacles and materials in the immediate environment of the antennas. In particular, attaching tags to metal objects or containers containing metal or water is problematic.
Many UHF RFID tags are provided with resonant dipole antennas. Dipole antennas are known to have good free-space characteristics, have a convenient form factor, and are easy to design and manufacture. However, dipole antennas suffer considerable performance degradation when placed near a high-loss and/or high-dielectric material, such as water, or near a conductor, such as metal. This is commonly referred to as the “metal/water problem” and occurs because the dielectric material changes the electromagnetic properties of the antenna, which changes the resonant frequency and efficiency of the antenna. More specifically, when a dipole antenna is placed near a conductor, the operation of the antenna changes from that of a “free space resonator” to a “volume resonator”, which impacts the performance of the antenna in a number of ways. If the antenna is no longer resonant, it becomes less efficient at radiating and receiving RF energy. The bandwidth of the antenna becomes narrower, such that the antenna is only efficient over a much smaller range of frequencies. If the antenna is intended to operate outside of this narrow band, it will suffer degraded performance. Furthermore, as the resonant frequency of the antenna changes, the characteristic impedance of the antenna changes. This further degrades performance by reducing efficient power transfer between the antenna and the IC. Additionally, if the dielectric material is lossy (e.g., water), the dielectric loss further contributes to the degradation of antenna performance. Additionally, if the antenna is very close to metal, the conductive losses of the antenna can become more pronounced, especially when not operating at its resonant frequency. Various solutions to these problems have been proposed, but all suffer from one or more limitations and disadvantages.
Some RFID tags are provided with microstrip antennas. A microstrip antenna is an antenna comprising a thin metallic conductor bonded to one side of a substrate, and a ground plane is bonded to the opposite side of the substrate. Microstrip antennas behave primarily as volume resonators, which is fundamentally different from dipole antennas commonly provided with UHF RFID tags. Generally, a tag incorporating a microstrip antenna also comprises a feed structure and matching circuit. The antenna, feed structure, and matching circuit are designed specifically to operate with the substrate, and the ground plane electrically isolates the antenna from the material to which it is attached.
Typical microstrip feed structures include a coaxial feed, microstrip (coplanar) feed, proximity-coupled microstrip feed, aperture-coupled microstrip feed, or coplanar waveguide feed. In each case, the antenna couples to a single unbalanced transmission line.
There are two common exceptions to the single unbalanced transmission line feed structure. The first involves a coplanar waveguide (CPW), commonly used with a balanced feed to excite the waveguide. A CPW is typically constructed by scribing slot lines in the ground plane and requires precise alignment, which significantly increases manufacturing costs. Furthermore, the scribed ground plane is unsuitable for many RFID applications in which the tag is intended to be mounted directly on metal.
The second exception is the use of two feeds to a square or round microstrip antenna, where one feed is fed 90 degrees out of phase with respect to the other feed. This may be done with edge-fed microstrip transmission lines (feeding two different edges) or two coaxial probes (feeding along different axes) in order to achieve circular polarization of the antenna. This two-feed structure is normally derived from a single feed that is divided, with one post-division transmission line being one-quarter wavelength longer than the other, which achieves the 90 degree phase difference.
Existing microstrip antenna-based RFID tags are significantly complex to manufacture. This is due, at least in part, to the incorporation of a physical connection, e.g., a via, between the IC and the ground plane to provide an electrical reference for the IC. The resulting non-planar connecting structure significantly increases manufacturing complexity.